My favorite time of the year has to be the spring. The holidays are fun, but as the weather starts to warm up, everything begins to grow, and life is renewed. One of the best parts of spring has got to be the flowers. All sorts of plants begin to bloom and the numbers and types of flowers can be amazing. But before everything else starts blooming, there are a couple plants that let you know that spring is just around the corner. One of those is the gardenia.

In my yard the gardenias are always the first to start blooming. In fact, more than once, the first round of buds have been damaged by a late frost (yes, in north central Florida we do get frost!). But the plants adapt and develop new buds in no time. Once the flowers really begin to bloom, and the plants are covered in gorgeous white flowers, you know that spring is really here! The amazing sight and smell of a loaded gardenia bush always reminds me that before long there will be flowers and green everywhere. So to me at least, the arrival of the gardenia flowers is the beginnings of the most upbeat time of the year!